Department of Education

Hometown: Phillipsburg, NJ 

Education: University of Rhode Island, Bachelor's of Science, Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems, 2025

Kaylie Hanisak (she/her) recently graduated from the University of Rhode Island (URI) with a Bachelor of Science in Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems. Kaylie earned an Academic Excellence Award for her major and graduated with Honors. In 2024, she was a Rhode Island (RI) Agriculture and Food Systems Fellow with the URI Cooperative Extension. She completed hands-on field experiences at a dual-use solar farm in Exeter, RI, and studied the use of biochar as a soil amenity in warm-season crops. Kaylie also worked as a Community Education Assistant for the Cooperative Extension Program “Food Recovery for Rhode Island,” where she helped manage and deliver the hybrid program to adult participants. Kaylie gained research experience in a Community Nutrition Security Lab at URI. She utilized Qualtrics to design mixed-method surveys for community partners (including Food Recovery for Rhode Island and RI Farm to Sea and School Network). In her free time, Kaylie competed nationally for the URI Cheerleading team and volunteered at the on-campus food pantry. Kaylie is currently a graduate student in Brown’s Urban Education Policy program. In the future, Kaylie hopes to work in food policy to increase local food security initiatives, improve agricultural and nutrition education in schools, and utilize policy to foster stronger relationships between farmers and schools.